Methods and devices for including a plurality of users in a conversation over a communication network

ABSTRACT

Methods and devices are disclosed for including a plurality of users in a conversation over a communication network. A conversation is initiated when a text message is received requesting the conversation. A conversation is established using conversation gateways currently unused by users to be included in the conversation. Communication may occur across gateways in order to conserve conversation gateway resources.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/704,158(Att. Docket 3J9941P), filed Feb. 7, 2007, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 60/771,309, filed Feb. 7, 2006, theentire contents of both which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to network communication and,more particularly, to group interactions on a communication network.

2. Description of Related Art

Telephone and computer technology provide a wide array of services forusers of telephone networks and computer networks. Indeed, computersroutinely provide a capability of transmitting voice over telephonenetworks, and once-relatively-simple cellular telephones may function assophisticated network computing devices in their own right. Users arecomfortable intercommunicating in chat rooms normally provided bycomputer network services, and text messaging, once associated more withemail and computers than with other communication media, now accountsfor a significant percentage of traffic on cellular telephone networks.

Telephone conferencing is common in business environments as a low-costalternative to face-to-face conversations that may require relativelycostly travel with its attendant inconvenience and delay. A user orbusiness wishing to set up a telephone conference may arrange with acommunication provider, such as a telephone company, to establish aconference at a specified time. Users then may be notified, e.g., byletter, telephone, email or the like, of the conference and may be givena special phone number (either toll-free or not) to call at the time ofthe conference. The users further may be given an additional code numberto be entered before being allowed to enter the conference.

Chat rooms, normally associated with computer networks, typically areestablished by commercial enterprises such as newspapers, sportsassociations, professional groups and the like to provide group membersand customers an opportunity to share views by exchanging text messages.As such, typical chat rooms have a generally public character, and theirstructure is fixed and static once a chat room is established. Chat roomusers may be required to register or in some other manner becomeaccepted in order to participate in chat room activity.

Text messaging, which may employ services such as Short Message Service(SMS), provides simple, convenient, silent messaging between cellulartelephones. Multimedia Message Service (MMS) extends capabilities of SMSto include transmission of graphic information. Generally, SMS and MMSare oriented to point-to-point communication.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention enables private multiparty textmessaging that is dynamically controlled and allocated while multipartyconversations are in progress. One particular embodiment of theinvention herein disclosed may provide a method of including a pluralityof users in a conversation over a communication network. One exemplaryimplementation of the method may comprise receiving a request to createa conversation, creating a conversation identifier according to therequest, and further may comprise receiving a plurality of lists ofconversation gateways currently unused by the plurality of users. Aplurality of conversation gateways to be used by the plurality of usersfor the conversation may be selected, the plurality of selectedconversation gateways being selected according to the plurality of listsof currently unused conversation gateways. The plurality of selectedconversation gateways may be associated with the conversationidentifier.

Another aspect of the present invention includes a conversationcommunication system for including a plurality of users in aconversation over a communication network. One embodiment of the systemmay comprise a communication interface adapted to communicate with theplurality of users over the communication network and a conversationmanager adapted to communicate with the communication interface and toreceive from the communication interface a plurality of lists ofconversation gateways currently unused by the plurality of users. Thesystem further may comprise a conversation gateway selector adapted toselect a plurality of conversation gateways according to the pluralityof lists of unused conversation gateways and still further may include amapper adapted to associate the plurality of selected conversationgateways with the conversation identifier.

Another embodiment may comprise a computer adapted to include aplurality of users in a conversation over a communication network. Thecomputer may comprise a processor adapted to execute software programs,a memory communicative with the processor, the memory adapted to storesoftware programs and data according to the conversation. The computerfurther may comprise a communication interface adapted to communicatewith the processor and with the plurality of users over thecommunication network. A conversation manager software program adaptedto cause the processor to create and store in memory a conversationidentifier according to the conversation may be included. Theconversation manager software program, further, may cause the processorto receive from the communication interface a plurality of lists ofconversation gateways currently unused by the plurality of users. Thecomputer still further may comprise a conversation gateway selectorsoftware program adapted to cause the processor to select a plurality ofconversation gateways according to the plurality of lists of unusedconversation gateways and still further may comprise a mapper softwareprogram adapted to cause the processor to associate the selectedplurality of conversation gateways with the conversation identifier.

While the apparatus and method has or will be described for the sake ofgrammatical fluidity with functional explanations, it is to be expresslyunderstood that the claims, unless expressly formulated under 35 U.S.C.112, are not to be construed as necessarily limited in any way by theconstruction of “means” or “steps” limitations, but are to be accordedthe full scope of the meaning and equivalents of the definition providedby the claims under the judicial doctrine of equivalents, and in thecase where the claims are expressly formulated under 35 U.S.C. 112 areto be accorded full statutory equivalents under 35 U.S.C. 112.

Any feature or combination of features described herein are includedwithin the scope of the present invention provided that the featuresincluded in any such combination are not mutually inconsistent as willbe apparent from the context, this specification, and the knowledge ofone skilled in the art. For purposes of summarizing the presentinvention, certain aspects, advantages and novel features of the presentinvention are described herein. Of course, it is to be understood thatnot necessarily all such aspects, advantages or features will beembodied in any particular embodiment of the present invention.Additional advantages and aspects of the present invention are apparentin the following detailed description and claims that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of one particular implementation of a method ofestablishing a conversation over a communication network;

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating how conversation gatewaysmay support multiple conversations;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one particular embodiment of a collectionof components and modules adapted to include a plurality of users in aconversation over a communication network;

FIG. 4 is a collection of tables summarizing an association of aconversation identifier with a conversation;

FIG. 5 is a table illustrating a list of unused conversation gateways;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computer adapted to include a pluralityof users in a conversation over a communication network;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an implementation of a method ofestablishing a connection between a first cellular telephone user and asecond user;

FIGS. 8-10 are flowcharts depicting three implementations of a methodintroduced in FIG. 7 for connecting first and second users;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart describing an exemplary implementation of amethod of enabling multiple telephone users to participate in a voiceconference initiated by a text message;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart describing one implementation of a method formanaging interactions on a communication network;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating one possible implementation of amethod of initiating a chat; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a computer adapted to implement methodsillustrated in flowcharts of FIGS. 7-13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferredembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same or similar referencenumbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to thesame or like parts. It should be noted that the drawings are insimplified form and are not to precise scale. In reference to thedisclosure herein, for purposes of convenience and clarity only,directional terms, such as, top, bottom, left, right, up, down, over,above, below, beneath, rear, and front, are used with respect to theaccompanying drawings. Such directional terms should not be construed tolimit the scope of the invention in any manner.

Although the disclosure herein refers to certain illustratedembodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are presentedby way of example and not by way of limitation. The intent of thefollowing detailed description, although discussing exemplaryembodiments, is to be construed to cover all modifications,alternatives, and equivalents of the embodiments as may fall within thespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Itis to be understood and appreciated that the methods and devicesdescribed herein do not constitute a complete description of a processfor establishing and managing text-based telephone conversations. Thepresent invention may be practiced in conjunction with various types ofcommunication devices, networks, and services that are conventionallyused in the art, and only so much of the commonly practiced processsteps are included herein as are necessary to provide an understandingof the present invention. The present invention has applicability in thefield of communication networks in general. For illustrative purposes,however, the following description pertains to methods and devices forfacilitating intercommunication over mobile telephone networks.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a flowchart ofone particular implementation of a method of establishing a conversationover a communication network. A conversation may be described as acollection of messages comprising group text message communicationinvolving a plurality of participants (e.g., users). Users may haveidentification that distinguishes users in a conversation from otherusers in the same conversation. This identification may comprise a firstname, a last name, a nickname, a phone number, email address, or thelike. Messages sent by any user in the conversation may be sent to allother users in the conversation. Further, each user in the conversationmay be able to see who else is involved in the conversation. Theconversation may involve sending and/or receiving text messages using,for example, facilities of a Short Message Service (SMS) or MultimediaMessage Service (MMS).

The particular implementation illustrated in FIG. 1 may provide a mediumof communication involving groups, the medium being created dynamicallyas needed. According to the illustrated implementation, a request toestablish a conversation is received at step 20. A conversationidentifier (conversation ID) is created at step 22 according to therequest. The conversation ID may provide a way to distinguish amongmultiple conversations that may be simultaneously active on thecommunication network. According to an exemplary embodiment, clientsoftware is installed on a user's cell phone. When a user initiates aconversation, for example, by keying a text message into a keypad on thecell phone, the client may encode into a payload, which may be, forexample, a binary payload, an initial message from the user.Additionally, names and numbers, e.g., phone numbers of the plurality ofusers, (i.e., prospective conversation participants) may be selectedfrom an address book on the user's cell phone, the names and numbersalso being encoded into the payload. In some embodiments, the initialmessage may not be encoded. In other embodiments, the phone numbers mayor may not be encoded. In still other embodiments, the initial messagemay comprise a null message or may be omitted without departing from thespirit of this disclosure. The payload may be received as a shortmessage service (SMS) message. Alternatively, the payload may bereceived via a network using, for example, an internet protocol (IP) orhypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), or via a device that supports awireless application protocol (WAP), mobile internet pages, or even viaa third-party web service or the like. The received payload may beinterpreted as a request to establish a conversation.

At step 25 a list of conversation gateways (CGs) is received for each ofthe plurality of users to be involved in the conversation. A CG may bedescribed as a virtual channel or communication medium characterized bya unique identifier (e.g., shortcode, telephone number, and the like) towhich a user can send messages and from which a user may receivemessages. For example, a CG may be a point at which a service forproviding conversations appears to a cellular telephone network. Priorart group chat services require all users in a conversation to use thesame CG. That is, one CG must be allocated for each active conversationsupported by the service. The present disclosure enables users to usedifferent CGs and still participate in the same conversation. FIG. 2illustrates the concept. Three users 70 are identified in FIG. 2, theusers being identified as A, B, and C. Three conversations 75 areidentified as well distinguished in the figure by three different typesof cross-hatching. FIG. 2A illustrates a prior art assignment of usersto CGs where, for example, users A, B, and C are involved in threedifferent 2-user conversations. For example, users A and B are occupiedin a first conversation 80 using conversation gateway 1 (CG 1).Similarly, users B and C are occupied in a second conversation using CG2, and users A and C are involved in a third conversation 85 using CG 3.Generally, a single user cannot be involved in more than oneconversation on a single gateway. Because conversations must take placewithin gateways, it should be clear that, for example, three CGs arerequired in order to support conversations involving three users.

FIG. 2B illustrates an assignment of users to CGs according to theimplementation of the method illustrated in FIG. 1. It will be notedthat, as in FIG. 2A, users A and B communicate in a conversation 81using CG 1, and users B and C again converse using CG 2. However, usersA and C communicate in a conversation 90 across CGs, user A employing CG1 and user C employing CG 2. Consequently, although a single user stillcannot be involved in more than one conversation on a single gateway,the implementation of FIG. 1 does allow for cross-CG conversations. As aconsequence, in the present example, CG 3 as a resource is madeavailable for other uses. Further, providing CGs may be expensive. Onefacility using CGs pays a relatively large monthly fee for the use ofeach CG. Consequently, there is a great incentive for reducing a numberof CGs required to provide service to a given user population.

Returning to FIG. 1, an unused CG is selected for each user to beincluded in the conversation at step 30, and each user may be associatedwith the conversation ID at step 35. More precisely, the selected CG ofeach user may be associated with the conversation ID. Once all users tobe involved in the conversation are so associated, a first message maybe transmitted at step 40 to all users in the conversation using the CGassigned to each user at step 40. The transmitted message may be awelcome message saying, for example, “Welcome to XYZ chat involvingAllen, Buddy, Connie, and Doris. You may send a message at any time.”Each user then can send a message to every other user in theconversation by sending a message to a conversation gateway assigned tohim/her for this conversation. A system implementing the method (e.g., aservice) can determine which conversation the user is trying to send amessage to and can forward the message to all other members in theconversation by way of the respective conversation gateways assigned toeach user for the conversation. It should be noted that new users may beadded at any time, even after the conversation has started, by selectingan unused CG for each user and by associating the user's CG with theconversation ID.

If, at step 25, a certain user, say user X, has no unused CGs, then userX may be notified that a first user wants to include user X in aconversation. According to one embodiment, a control CG may be reservedfor situations where a service may need to contact a user foradministrative reasons. In the present example, User X may be requestedto discontinue at least one active conversation in which user X may beinvolved. When user X leaves another active conversation, then user Xmay be added to the conversation involving the first user.Alternatively, user X may be dropped from another active conversation,or another active conversation may be ended or timed out.

Thereafter, a message may be received from a CG associated with theconversation at step 45, and the message may be transmitted, i.e.,forwarded to the CGs of all other users in the conversation at step 50by sending the message to a remainder of the CGs involved in theconversation.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of one particular embodiment of a collectionof components and modules adapted to include a plurality of users in aconversation over a communication network according to a method, anexample of which is described supra with reference to FIG. 1. Theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 may be described as a system 130 thatfacilitates intercommunication among a collection of users 110, 115, and120 over a communication network 125. For example, the users may employcellular telephones, and the communication network 125 may comprise acellular telephone network. The cellular telephone network may connectto an internet that also may be considered in this discussion to beincluded in the communication network 125. The system 130 may comprise acommunication interface 140 that is configured to communicate with thecommunication network 125 in a conventional manner over a communicationpath 135 connecting the communication interface 140 to the communicationnetwork 125. The communication interface 140 is thereby adapted tocommunicate with the plurality of users 110, 115, and 120. The system130, further, may comprise a conversation manager module 150 thatintercommunicates with the communication interface 140 over acommunication path 145 connecting the conversation manager module 150with the communication interface 140.

The conversation manager module 150 may receive from the communicationinterface 140 a request originating with a user in a form of, forexample, a text message, to form a conversation involving a plurality ofusers. The conversation manager module 150 then may create aconversation identifier (ID) according to step 20 (FIG. 1). Theconversation manager module 150, further, may receive a plurality oflists of conversation gateways (CGs) currently unused by the pluralityof users (e.g. users 110, 115, and 120 in the present example).According to one particular implementation, the plurality of lists ofCGs is retrieved from a storage unit 185 (described more fully infra) bythe conversation manager 150 over, for example, communication path 175.The system 130, further, may comprise a CG selector module 165, the CGselector module 165 being adapted to select a plurality of CGs accordingto the plurality of lists of unused CGs. For example, the conversationmanager module 150 may pass the plurality of lists to the CG selectormodule 165 over a communication path 155 between the conversationmanager module 150 and CG selector 165 modules. The CG selector module165 may select from the plurality of lists, one CG for each user and mayreturn a list of selected CGs to the conversation manager module 150over the communication path 155. According to another embodiment, the CGselector module 165 maintains a database of available gateways, forexample, on the storage unit 185 by communicating with the storage unit185 over a communication path 167. The conversation manager module 150,in that instance, receives a list of currently-available gateways byinteracting with the database on the storage unit 185 over communicationpath 175.

The system 130, as illustrated, still further may comprise a mappermodule 170 adapted to associate the plurality of selected conversationgateways with the conversation identifier. According to one exemplaryimplementation, the conversation manager module 150 passes the list tothe mapper module 170 over another communication path 160 between theconversation manager module 150 and mapper 170 modules. The conversationmanager module 150, further, may pass the conversation ID to the mappermodule 170. The mapper module 170 may associate the selected CGs withthe conversation identifier (ID) and may create a table (cf. discussioninfra with reference to FIG. 4) summarizing the association and may passthe table to a storage unit 185 over communication path 180.

FIG. 4 is a collection of simplified tables that illustrates oneparticular way of organizing information related to a particularconversation. A first table 205 comprises a list of users: A, B and C inthe illustrated example. A second table 210 lists CGs, identified as 1,2 and 3 in the figure. A third table lists currently activeconversations according to conversation IDs. The third table shows thattwo conversations, conversations 23 and 24 are of interest. Shading inthe table is intended to illustrate that, for example, conversation 23may be active before a request to establish a new conversation,conversation 24 is received. A fourth table 220 illustrates one possibleassignment of users and CGs according to conversations. For example, thefourth table 220 indicates that users A and B converse in conversation23 using, respectively, CGs 1 and 2.

Again, shaded blocks in third and fourth tables 215 and 220 are intendedto represent entries associated with a new conversation request receivedat a time when conversation 23 is already active. That is, referringagain to FIGS. 1 and 3 with continuing reference to FIG. 4, theconversation manager module 150 may receive a request to form aconversation involving users A, B, and C. The conversation managermodule 150 may, accordingly, create a conversation ID per step 20 (FIG.1), the created conversation ID being 24 in the present example. Theconversation manager module 150 may, as described supra with referenceto FIG. 3, receive a plurality of lists of CGs currently unused by usersA, B, and C. For example, a list of a type illustrated in FIG. 5 in atable 225 may be received illustrating that CGs 2 and 3 are currentlyunused by user A, CGs 1 and 3 are currently unused by user B, and CGs 1,2 and 3 are currently unused by user C. It will be noted that theinformation in table 225 (FIG. 5) is consistent with the information inthe fourth table 220 (FIG. 4) that indicates that users A and B arecurrently involved in conversation 23 and are using, respectively, CG 1and CG 2.

The conversation manager module 150 (FIG. 3) may pass the lists ofunused CGs to the CG selector module 165 as already described, and theCG selector module 165, in this instance, may select CG 2 to be used byuser A, CG 3 to be used by user B, and CG 1 to be used by user C, eachof the selected CGs being unused by the respective users according tothe information in the table of FIG. 5. The CG selector module 165 mayreturn the selected CGs to the conversation manager module 150, and theconversation manager module 150 may pass the conversation ID and theselected CGs to the mapper module 170. The mapper module 170 mayassociate the selected CGs with the conversation ID according to step 40(FIG. 1), thereby, effectively, filling out the shaded rows of thefourth table 220 (FIG. 4). The mapper module 170 may, accordingly,update the fourth table 220, which may reside in a storage unit 185, bypassing, for example, shaded elements of the fourth table 220 over acommunication path 180 that connects the mapper module 170 to thestorage unit 185. The storage unit 185 may comprise, in typicalembodiments, a hard disk, flash memory, or the like.

The conversation manager module 150 may access the fourth table 220(FIG. 4) on the storage unit 185 over communication path 175 and,according to the selected CGs appearing in the fourth table 220, maytransmit through the communication interface 140 a first message tousers A, B, and C, effectively starting conversation 24, which maycomprise a collection of messages, according to step 40 (FIG. 1).Thereafter, conversation manager module 150 (FIG. 3) may receive amessage from time to time from, for example, one of users A, B and Caccording to step 45 (FIG. 1) and may transmit the message to the othersof users A, B, and C according to step 50 (FIG. 1).

According to an exceptional mode of operation, a certain user may haveno unused conversation gateways when the conversation manager module 150attempts to establish a new conversation that includes the certain user.In that case, the conversation manager module 150 may notify the certainuser that another user wishes to include the certain user in aconversation. The certain user may be requested to discontinue at leastone active conversation in order to accommodate the new request.Otherwise, when the certain user leaves another active conversation,either voluntarily, by being dropped from the other active conversation,or because the other active conversation ends or times out, then theconversation manager module 150 may include the certain user in the newconversation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a computer 250 adapted to include aplurality of users in a conversation over a communication network 310.The computer 250 in the illustrated embodiment may comprise a processor255 adapted to execute software program instructions, memory, which maycomprise, for example, working memory 260, data memory 265 and programmemory 270, and a communication interface 275, all of the aforementionedelements being interconnected by a system bus 280. The system bus 280may, in particular, communicatively connect the processor 255 with theremaining elements already identified.

The program memory 270 may have stored therein software programs that,when executed by the processor 255, may cause the processor 255 toperform functions according to the software programs as hereindescribed. In the illustrated example, software programs comprising aconversation manager 290, a conversation gateway (CG) selector 295, anda mapper 300 are stored in program memory 270 along with an executive285 software program that may cause the processor 255 to facilitate andcoordinate execution of at least the software programs illustrated.

The communication interface 275 may connect over a communication path305 with a communication network 310 to which is connected a pluralityof users, e.g. users 315, 320 and 325 in the present example. That is,the communication interface 275 may communicate with the plurality ofusers over the communication network 310.

In one typical mode of operation, the processor 255 operating accordingto the conversation manager 290 software program may receive from thecommunication interface 275 a request, e.g., a text message originatingfrom a cellular telephone, from a user (e.g. one of users 315, 320, and325) connected to the communication network 310, the request asking thata conversation among a plurality of users, for example, users A, B and C(i.e., users 315, 320 and 325) be established. The conversation manager290 software program may cause the processor 255 to create aconversation identifier (ID) according to step 20 (FIG. 1) as alreadydescribed and to store the conversation ID in memory, for example,working memory 260. The conversation manager 290 software programfurther may cause the processor 255 to receive, for example, from datamemory 265, a plurality of lists of conversation gateways (CGs)currently unused by the plurality of users. If, for example, aparticular user, say, user A, has no unused CGs when the processor 255attempts to include user A in a conversation, then the conversationmanager 290 software program may cause the processor 255 to notify theuser of the desire of another user to include user A in a newconversation. User A may be added to the new conversation when user Aleaves at least one other active conversation for any reason (e.g., bybeing dropped from the other active conversation, by leaving the otheractive conversation voluntarily, by having the other active conversationtime out, or the like). According to one particular mode of operation,the executive 285 software program may cause the processor 255 toexecute the CG selector 295 software program that may cause theprocessor 255 to select a plurality of CGs according to the plurality oflists of unused CGs and to store the plurality of selected CGs in, forexample, working memory 260. The executive 285 software program then maycause the processor 255 to execute the mapper 300 software program,which may cause the processor 255 to associate the plurality of selectedCGs located in working memory 260 with the conversation ID likewisepreviously stored in working memory 260. According to one embodiment,the mapper 300 software program may cause the processor 255 to create atable according to the association and to store the table in data memory265. The table may take a form as described supra with reference to FIG.4.

The conversation manager 290 software program may cause the processor255 to access the association in data memory 265 and to transmit a firstmessage through the communication interface 275 according to theselected CGs stored in data memory 265. The first message may bedirected to users associated with the CGs, e.g. users A, B and C (i.e.users 315, 320 and 325) in the present example. Thereafter, theconversation, which may comprise a collection of messages, may continueas the processor 255, by operating according to instructions appearingin the conversation manager 290 software program, may receive at leastone message from at least one user communicating on a selected CG. Theconversation manager 290 software program may, in that case, cause theprocessor 255 to forward, i.e., transmit) the message to the pluralityof users through the communication interface 275 over the plurality ofselected CGs.

It should be emphasized that the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 maypermit users to communicate across conversation gateways (CGs) asdescribed supra with reference to FIG. 2. That is, the conversationmanager 290 software program may cause the processor 255 to communicateover the communication interface 275 with a first user using a first CGand to communicate with a second user using a second CG, the second CGbeing different from the first CG. For example, in FIG. 2B, user Cemploying CG 1 communicates with user A, who employs CG 2, whichcross-CG communication may not be permitted in prior art chat services.

Typical embodiments of the system 130 (FIG. 3) or computer 250 (FIG. 6)may provide a service that may perform various management functionsassociated with a conversation. Indeed, management of a conversation bysuch a service may involve various types of interactions. For discussionpurposes herein, an “interaction” may be considered to be a one-to-oneadministrative conversation between a user and a computer or systemproviding the service. Such an interaction may be initiated by a user(e.g., signing up for services, initiating a chat, adding a friend to anaddress book, and the like). As another example, an interaction may beinitiated by the service (e.g. asking a user to exit from a pendingchat, reminding a user to sign up, and the like). Interactions mayrequire the service to store, for example, states to preserve variables,parameters and other information associated with a conversation in orderthat a command, action, or function (CAF) may be carried out using onlypartial information included in a typical text message received by theservice. Multiple text messages may need to be received from a user,therefore, in order to fully define states associated with a user and/ora conversation.

Some of the problems associated with interactions include: 1) using asingle conversation gateway or phone number to receive text messagesfrom multiple users; 2) a user may try to carry out one or more CAFs atthe same time; 3) a text message sent to a conversation gateway or phonenumber may not have any identifier that associates the message sent to aspecific CAF; 4) a user could try to initiate another CAF while theservice is still collecting information and/or parameters for apreviously-initiated CAF (for example, the service may expect a namefrom a user in order to facilitate execution of a signup command, andthe user may respond, instead, with a chat request).

One possible implementation of a method for addressing these and otherproblems that may be associated with interactions is summarized in aflowchart shown in FIG. 12. The illustrated implementation begins atstep 500 and continues at step 505 where a new command, action, orfunction (CAF) may be initiated by a user or by the service. Forexample, a user may initiate a signup command. At step 510 the CAF isanalyzed to determine whether the CAF requires an interaction in orderto enable storing parameters necessary to execute the CAF. If no suchinteraction is required the CAF is executed at step 515 without startinga new interaction or affecting any other interaction already inprogress. In that case, the illustrated implementation ends at step 555.

If, at step 510, an interaction is required to store parameters, then atest is performed at step 520 to determine whether any otherinteractions are ongoing. If there are other ongoing interactions, thenthose ongoing interactions stored in the service for theuser/conversation gateway combination associated with the new CAFstarted at step 505 are ended. Execution then resumes at step 530. Ifthere are no other ongoing interactions, then execution also resumes atstep 530 where a new interaction is started for the CAF started at step505. At step 535 the user is asked to reply with a parameter that may berequired in order to complete the CAF. The service waits for a responseto this query. At step 540 the response from the user is analyzed todetermine whether the response constitutes a new CAF. If so, executionresumes at step 505, effectively abandoning any previously-started CAFand starting over. If at step 540, the response is not a new CAF, thenthe response is analyzed at step 545 to determine whether the responseis invalid or, for example, whether additional parameters are requiredfrom the user. If the response is invalid or if more information isrequired, then execution resumes at step 535 by querying the user for areply appropriate to the need for additional parameters or information.Otherwise, if more information is not required after the response, thenat step 550 the CAF is executed, and the interaction is ended orremoved. Execution then ends at step 555.

In view of the foregoing, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that the methods of the present invention can facilitateestablishment and operation of text-initiated text-based conversationsover cellular telephone networks. These methods may permit providingusers with text messaging service having many of the samecharacteristics as that of email. For example, everyone who receives atext message knows who else has received the message. Further, a “replyall” service may be provided, whereby a user is able to send a messageto all users involved in a text-based conversation with one relativelysimple operation. The above-described embodiments have been provided byway of example, and the present invention is not limited to theseexamples. Multiple variations and modification to the disclosedembodiments will occur, to the extent not mutually exclusive, to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the foregoing description. Forexample, FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an implementation of amethod of automatically establishing a connection, which may be a voiceconnection, between a first cellular telephone user and a second user inresponse to the text message. A text message is received (e.g., viaShort Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS) or thelike) at step 345. According to a particular embodiment, the textmessage is received from a first cellular telephone user, the textmessage including contact information for the second user. Typically,the contact information comprises a telephone number for the seconduser. The first and second users are connected at step 350. It should benoted that the first user does not initiate a phone call from his/hercellular telephone. Rather the first user receives a call, e.g., from aservice, that connects the first user to the second user.

The connecting of first and second users may be implemented, accordingto one particular example, as summarized in a flowchart in FIG. 8.According to this implementation, receiving the text message at step 345(FIG. 7) comprises receiving a phone number of the first cellulartelephone user at step 370 (FIG. 8). Alternatively, the phone number ofthe first cellular telephone user may be supplied by caller ID. A firstcall then may be placed to the phone number of the first cellulartelephone user at step 375, thereby creating a first call leg. A secondcall may be placed to the second user at step 380, thereby creating asecond call leg, and the first and second call legs may be bridged atstep 385, thereby establishing a call between the first and secondusers. Again, the first user does not initiate a phone call.

According to another implementation, illustrated in a flowchart in FIG.9, phone numbers of the first cellular telephone user and of the seconduser are received at step 405. A phone call is then placed to the seconduser at step 410, thereby creating a first call leg. Another phone callis placed to the first cellular telephone user at step 415, therebycreating a second call leg. A conference bridge may then be used at step420 to bridge the first and second call legs.

Yet another implementation of a method of connecting two users isillustrated in a flowchart in FIG. 10. According to this implementation,the second user is contacted at step 440, and the first cellulartelephone user's phone number is submitted to the second user at step445 and the second user calls the first user directly.

In none of the implementations summarized in FIGS. 8-10 does the firstcellular telephone user initiate a phone call. The first cellulartelephone user thereby may avoid any additional expense, e.g., longdistance charges, associated with placing a call from his/her cellulartelephone. Often, the second user pays for the phone call because thesecond user may be a business that may benefit from connecting with thefirst cellular telephone user. The implementations described require nocomputer network (e.g., internet) access on the part of the firstcellular telephone user. In particular, the first cellular telephoneuser need not have a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) or Web accessenabled on his/her cellular telephone. The only requirement is that thefirst cellular telephone of the first user have a text messagingcapability.

As another example, FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary implementation of amethod of enabling multiple mobile or landline telephone users toparticipate in a voice conference initiated by a text message (via,e.g., SMS, MMS or the like). According to the illustratedimplementation, a message is received from an initiator at step 465requesting a telephone conference among a group of users. Phone numbersfor users in the group are determined at step 470, and calls are placedto users in the group at step 475. The determining of phone numbers inthe group may comprise receiving the phone numbers in the text messagesent by the initiator, or the phone numbers may have been received andstored previous to the receiving of the call requesting the conference.As each user answers, he/she may be connected to a voice conferencebridge at step 480. In some instances, users may also call in to theconference bridge to join a conference call already in progress.

The implementation of FIG. 11 enjoys several advantages when comparedwith traditional voice conference calls where participants call in to apre-set conference call bridge number and session. No pre-set time isestablished when users must dial in. Initiators can specify conferencecall users and start a conference call spontaneously if desired. Usersneed not remember how or when to dial in, as they are called when aconference call commences. Rather than using SMS or MMS, a user can alsoinitiate a telephone conference by clicking on a Uniform ResourceIdentifier (URI) or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) on a web-enabledmobile phone or on a personal computer (e.g., a laptop or desktopdevice) that is connected to an internet. Users participating in theconference may not be charged for long distance calls to the conference,because a service, rather, places calls to the users. Therefore, eachuser receives an incoming phone call that connects the user to theconference bridge.

Additional implementations will occur to one skilled in the art based onthe example illustrated in FIG. 11. For example, a user may request aconference call, the request including contact information for a groupof users to be involved in the conference call. Call-in detailsincluding, e.g., a call-in number may be sent to each user in the groupvia, for example, a Short Message Service (SMS) message. Users receivingthe call-in details then may click on the call-in number to join theconference.

As yet another example, the implementations described supra withreference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 6 may be used to set up an ad hoc chatgroup. Whereas prior art services may require setting up a chat groupusing a pre-defined group of members, ad hoc chat initiations, accordingto the disclosure herein, may allow users to specify individuals withwhom they want to chat at a time of initiation of the chat.Alternatively, a user may, if desired, set up a pre-defined group offriends in order to speed up initiation of a chat.

In order to initiate an ad hoc chat, a user may simply send a textmessage to a service (provided, for example, by the system 130 (FIG. 3)or computer 250 (FIG. 6) described supra with reference to FIGS. 3 and6), the text message including, for example, a first name, partial firstname, last name, partial last name, nickname, an identifier number of auser or some combination of users' names with which to start a chat.Alternatively, users may specify phone numbers of users with whom tochat if those users have not registered with the service. Thiscapability of ad hoc chat may be useful for several reasons: 1) There isno need to set up chat groups prior to initiating a chat—a user canstart a chat with any group of people; 2) ad hoc chats may be moreuseful in daily life than pre-set chat groups, because the formerenables unlimited permutations of chat group members and hence cansupport spontaneous use of chats on-the-go; 3) the only required mediumof communication on a cellular phone is text messaging; 5) noapplications need to be downloaded to the cellular phone; and 6) thechat initiation request can be performed solely using textcommands/requests and responses. No graphical user interfaces arerequired on either a cellular phone of a chat initiator or on cellularphones of other users invited to join a chat.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating one possible implementation of amethod of initiating a chat. The illustrated implementation commences atstep 575 and receives a text message from a chat initiator at step 580.The text message may include a first name, partial first name, lastname, partial last name, nickname, an identifier number of a user to beadded to a chat. The text message also may include some combinations ofusers' names to be included in the chat being initiated. Alternatively,the initiator can also specify phone numbers of users to be invited tothe chat if those users are not yet registers in an address bookmaintained by the service. The initiator also may have a group (i.e., acollection of users) pre-defined in one or more address books maintainedby the service. The group may have a group name, and the group name maybe specified as one of the chat participants. Where names are specified,users typically would have set up their own address books with theservice specifying phone numbers and names/nicknames of contacts andfriends. Such an address book setup may be done online or via a textmessage sent to the service.

When the text message is received at step 580, names specified by theinitiator may be matched with names in service address books at step585. The matching may comprise matching partial names, concatenatingfirst and last names, concatenating a combination of first and lastinitials with first and last names, matching nicknames or partialnicknames, or matching with a speed-dial number (an identifier numbercorresponding to a user). If, at step 590 an ambiguous match is found,that is, a match that cannot be resolved by the service, then theinitiator may be notified at step 595 that an error has occurred andthat more information is required to resolve the error. The service alsomay suggest corrections and then wait for a response. When a response isreceived, execution may resume at step 580.

If, at step 590, no ambiguous match is noted, then the chat may beinitiated at step 600 using, for example, a method similar to theimplementation described supra with reference to FIG. 1, and the ad hocchat initiation ends at step 605.

Steps in the flowcharts illustrated in FIGS. 7-13 may be performed,according to an exemplary embodiment, by a computer adapted to implementmethods illustrated in those flowcharts. For example, one possibleimplementation of such a computer is illustrated in FIG. 14. Theillustrated embodiment of a computer 625 comprises a processor 630adapted to execute software programs and memory, which may comprise, forexample, working memory 635, data memory 640, which may be adapted tostore data related to conversations, and program memory 645, which maybe adapted to store software programs. The illustrated embodimentfurther comprises a communication interface 660 adapted to communicateover a communication path 675 with a communication network 670, whichmay be a cellular telephone network. The embodiment still further maycomprise a bridge 665. A system bus 655 may provide anintercommunication path that permits the processor 630 to communicatewith working memory 635, data memory 640, program memory X45,communication interface 660, and the bridge 665. One implementation ofthe bridge 665 may comprise a special type of telephone adapted tocontrol multiple telephone calls. The program memory 645 may have storedtherein software programs adapted to cause the processor 630 to performoperations according to the software programs. For example, the programmemory 645 may have stored therein a communication manager 650 softwareprogram as well as additional software programs (not shown).

According to one possible exemplary mode of operation, the computer 625of FIG. 14 may implement a method summarized in the flowchart of FIG. 8.For example, the processor 630, which may be executing the communicationmanager 650 software program, may receive, over the system bus 655, atext message, which may be an SMS message, through the communicationinterface 660 from a user, e.g., User A 685, User A 685 having aconnection to the communication network. 670. The received text messagemay include a request to establish a telephone call with another user onthe communication network 670, for example, User B 690. Thecommunication manager 650 software program then may cause the processor630 to cause the bridge 665 to place a call to User A 685 using one of aplurality of communication paths 680 that connect the bridge 665 to thecommunication network 670. The call to User A 685 may be considered tobe a first leg of a phone call. The communication manager 650 softwareprogram then may cause the processor 630 to cause the bridge 665 toplace another call to User B 690 using another of the plurality ofcommunication paths 680. The call to User B 690 may be considered to bea second leg of a phone call. The communication manager 650 softwareprogram then may cause the processor 630 to cause the bridge 665 toconnect the first and second legs together, thereby establishing atelephone connection between User A 685 and User B 690. It should benoted that the method just described (cf. FIG. 8) requires neither UserA 685 nor User B 690 to initiate a telephone call.

One skilled in the art will understand that the computer 625 illustratedin FIG. 14 may be adapted as well to perform functions according tomethods described in FIGS. 7 and 9-13.

Other combinations, omissions, substitutions and modifications will beapparent to the skilled artisan in view of the disclosure herein.Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited by thedisclosed embodiments, but is to be defined by reference to the appendedclaims.

1. A method of establishing a connection between a first cellulartelephone user and a second user comprising: receiving a text messagefrom the first cellular telephone user, the text message includingcontact information for the second user; and automatically establishinga voice connection between the first user and the second user inresponse to the text message.
 2. The method as set forth in claim 1,wherein the receiving of a text message including contact informationfor the second user comprises receiving a phone number for the seconduser.
 3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the receivingcomprises receiving a Short Message Service text message.
 4. The methodas set forth in claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving aMultimedia Message Service text message.
 5. The method as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving a message from anetwork employing an internet protocol.
 6. The method as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the receiving comprises receiving a message from anetwork employing a hypertext transfer protocol.
 7. The method as setforth in claim 1, wherein the connecting comprises: receiving a phonenumber of the first cellular telephone user in the text message; callingthe phone number of the first cellular telephone user, thereby creatinga first call leg; placing a phone call to the second user, therebycreating a second call leg; and bridging the first call leg with thesecond call leg, thereby establishing a call between the first cellulartelephone user and the second user.
 8. The method as set forth in claim1, wherein the connecting comprises: receiving phone numbers of firstand second users in the text message; placing a phone call to the seconduser, thereby creating a first call leg; placing a phone call to thefirst user, thereby creating a second call leg; and using a conferencebridge to bridge the first call leg and the second call leg, therebyconnecting the first user and the second user.
 9. The method as setforth in claim 1, wherein the connecting comprises: contacting thesecond user; and causing the second user to place a phone call to thefirst user.
 10. A method of establishing a telephone conference, themethod comprising: receiving a message from an initiator requesting aconference among a selected group of users; determining phone numbersfor users in the selected group; placing calls to users in the selectedgroup; and connecting users in the selected group to a conference bridgewhen users answer the calls.
 11. The method as set forth in claim 10,wherein the receiving comprises receiving Short Message Service textmessage.
 12. The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein the receivingcomprises receiving Multimedia Message Service text message.
 13. Themethod as set forth in claim 10, wherein the receiving comprisesreceiving a request from a network after the initiator clicks on aUniform Resource Identifier on a device connected to the network. 14.The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein the receiving comprisesreceiving a request from a network after the initiator clicks on aUniform Resource Locator on a device connected to the network.
 15. Themethod as set forth in claim 10, wherein the determining comprisesreceiving phone numbers for users in the selected group as part of thetext message requesting the conference.
 16. The method as set forth inclaim 10, wherein the determining comprises retrieving pre-determinedphone numbers received for the selected group prior to receiving themessage requesting the conference.